The U.S. Military Presence in Europe and French Security Policy

Abstract

IS EUROPE IN the process of becom­ ing the alpha and omega of all French strategic analysis? Given the way na­ tional security problems are being ad­ dressed currently in Paris, this is a question worth asking. There are French strategists whose views are no longer based solely on national interest but who assess French security in terms of European security. They jus­ tify the dramatic change in their think­ ing with the following observations. First, they see the Federal Republic of Germany increasingly inching to­ ward Eastern Europe to recover its lost unity and influence in central Europe. Proponents of the new French stra­ tegic thinking are fond of quoting President Richard von Weizsacker, who said, those who live in both East and West have never ceased and will never cease to consider themselves as part of one unique nation.' In contrast, the United States is un­ der the influence of two trends that could lead Washington to a significant military withdrawal from Europe. T h e first trend is based on the advantages that geography and advanced technol­ ogy confer on the United States. As a